Italy's Court of Cassation has ruled that a man who backed out of his wedding at the last-minute must cover the wedding costs incurred by his jilted ex.

The man has been told to pay the woman back €16,500, finally bringing an end to a 16-year legal wrangle.

The scorned bride was unceremoniously jilted a week before the pair - who had been together for 11 years - was due to marry in 1999 after her fiancé revealed he had begun a relationship with another woman, La Repubbilca reported.

The bride then decided to take legal action against her ex, citing the expenses she had incurred leading up to the wedding.

Initially, her claims were rejected by a court in Prato, Tuscany, but a court of appeal in Florence decided she deserved to be reimbursed for some of her wedding expenses.

However, the cheating groom decided to appeal the decision.

But Italy's top court ruled that the man's failure to provide a valid reason for calling off the marriage so late in the day, and after the event had been so widely publicized, meant that he was liable for some of the costs the now 46-year-old ex-fiancée had incurred.

In its statement the court said it had “examined completely the testimonies and did not find a valid reason for the husband not fulfilling his promise of marriage.”

The court ordered the man to reimburse his ex for “money spent on her wedding dress, as well as the restoration of what was supposed to be their connubial home.”